
Rail transportation safety concerns and advisories
Safety concerns
Safety concerns provide a marker to the industry and the regulator that the Board has identified a safety deficiency for which it does not yet have sufficient information to make a recommendation. As more data and analysis becomes available, and if the safety deficiency is found to be systemic and not redressed, the safety concern may lead to a recommendation. Safety concerns are usually communicated in final investigation reports.
Safety information letters
The TSB sends safety information letters to regulatory and/or industry stakeholders to advise them of potentially unsafe acts or conditions identified during an investigation that pose low risks and do not require immediate remedial action. The letters aim to promote safety or clarify issues that a stakeholder is already examining, and are sent before the investigation has been completed. Those that do not contain privileged or proprietary information are posted here.
Safety advisory letters
Safety advisory letters are concerned with safety deficiencies that pose low to medium risks, and are used to inform regulatory or industry stakeholders of unsafe conditions. A safety advisory letter suggests remedial action to reduce risks to safety.
Product | Date issued | Subject | No. | To | Related occurrence |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Safety advisory letter | 2020-11-04 | Cracked wheels on Ottawa Light Rail Transit vehicles | 617-08/20 | City of Ottawa | R20H0079 |
Safety advisory letter | 2020-09-11 | Structural issues on bathtub gondola cars built by Berwick Forge & Fabricating Corporation | 617-07/20 | Transport Canada, Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) | R19T0107 |
Safety advisory letter | 2020-09-11 | Managing in-train forces | 617-06/20 | Transport Canada | R19T0107 |
Safety advisory letter | 2019-09-16 | Potentially defective bathtub gondola cars in scrap iron and steel service | 617-09/19 | Transport Canada, Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) | R19T0107 |
Safety advisory letter | 2019-08-19 | Train inspection following a derailment with dangerous goods in a tunnel | 617-08/19 | Transport Canada | R19T0107 |
Safety advisory letter | 2020-04-17 | Effectiveness of No. 1 brake test | 617-04/20 | Transport Canada | R19C0015 |
Safety advisory letter | 2020-04-03 | Enhanced track standards for key routes | 617-03/20 | Transport Canada | R20W0025 R19W0320 |
Safety advisory letter | 2020-04-03 | Modifying key train speed based on various train risk profiles | 617-02/20 | Transport Canada | R20W0025 R20W0031 |
Safety advisory letter | 2019-04-11 | Air brake system inspection and maintenance on grain hopper cars used in CP unit train operation | 617-05/19 | Transport Canada | R19C0015 |
Safety advisory letter | 2019-04-11 | Prevention of uncontrolled train movements for trains stopped in emergency on grades of less than 1.8% | 617-04/19 | Transport Canada | R19C0015 |
Safety advisory letter | 2016-04-26 | Protection of main track against runaway rolling stock at CP’s Sutherland Yard | 617-09/16 | Transport Canada | R16W0074 |
Safety advisory letter | 2018-11-16 | Clearing trains through Rule 42 work limits | 617-09/18 | Transport Canada | R18H0105 |
Safety advisory letter | 2019-03-25 | VIA trains coming into contact with track materials placed between the rails in preparation for track work | 617-03/19 | Transport Canada | R19H0021 R19M0157 |
Safety advisory letter | 2019-03-21 | Securement of cars that are considered “attended” during yard switching operations | 617-02/19 | Transport Canada | R18M0037 |
Safety advisory letter | 2018-11-14 | Breach in the fence of the public walkway fastened to the St-Maurice River bridge | 617-08/18 | Transport Canada | R18Q0075 |
Safety advisory letter | 2018-11-14 | Visual verification method to ensure secure coupling of rail cars | 617-05/18 | Transport Canada, Technical Safety BC, Canadian Pacific Railway, Railway Association of Canada, Western Canadian Short Line Railway Association | R17V0096 |
Safety advisory letter | 2018-10-09 | Securement of loads on flat cars equipped with an A-frame structure | 617-07/18 | Transport Canada | R18D0069 |
Safety advisory letter | 2018-07-19 | Potential brake valve failures on cars that have been in long term storage | 617-04/18 | Transport Canada | R18E0007 |
Safety advisory letter | 2018-05-17 | Deterrence of trespassing activity on railway property | 617-02/18 | Transport Canada, Operation Lifesaver Canada | R18T0058, R18T0070, R18T0075 |
Safety advisory letter | 2017-11-02 | Replacement of rail at the end of its service life | 617-12/17 | CN | R17E0126 |
Safety advisory letter | 2017-10-26 | Pedestrian crossing protection in Sainte-Anne, Manitoba | 624-20/17 | Mayor, Town of Sainte Anne | R17W0200 |
Safety advisory letter | 2017-07-18 | Assessment of the safety impact of road accidents in the vicinity of railway crossings | 617-10/17 | Transport Canada | R16D0092 |
Safety advisory letter | 2017-05-10 | Jurisdictional responsibility for roadway markings at Crush Crescent – Glover Road crossing in Langley, BC | 617-06/17 | Transport Canada, Transportation and Infrastructure, Township of Langley, CP | R15V0191 |
Safety advisory letter | 2016-09-19 | Response to the Sixth Report of the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities (SCOTIC) | n/a | Chair, SCOTIC | R16H0002 |
Safety advisory letter | 2016-03-17 | Crossing Safety at Crush Crescent–Glover Road in Langley, BC | 617-07/16 | n/a | R15V0191 |
Safety advisory letter | 2015-03-17 | Condition of track infrastructure on CN Ruel subdivision | 617-04/15 | Transport Canada | R15H0021 |
Safety advisory letter | 2013-07-19 | Securement of Unattended Locomotives | 617-08/13 | Transport Canada | R13D0054 |
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